Donizetti's Emilia di Liverpool

The European Opera Centre, Liverpool, December 31, 2007 - January 6, 2008

  Photographs taken at the dress rehearsals and provided by the
European Opera Centre, who hold the copyright.

Cast and production

There were three alternate casts with young singers from Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, France, Germany, Italy, Romania and Spain and an orchestra of young musicians from Liverpool’s associate cities – Bremen, Gdansk and from Liverpool itself.  This European Opera Centre production also toured Bremen and Gdansk later in January and plan to go to Naples later in 2008.

The photographs include singers from the following two casts:-

Conductor - Giovanni Pacor

Director - Ignacio Garcia

Designer - Elisabetta Pian

Lighting - José Luis Canales

Generally, the production received a warm welcome, "A terrific work, beautifully performed " (Tim Ashley, The Guardian, January 7, 2008).  Glyn Mon Hughes in the Liverpool Daily Post (January 2, 2008) noted that  " The superbly dramatic all-male chorus was perched on the balcony and the orchestra on the stage, with action in the round. It was a fast-paced work with some quite stunning singing, particularly from Belgian soprano Martine Reyners, who sang Emilia."  Anthony Holden in the Observer (January 13, 2008) was also impressed by Reyners and wrote that " It seems absurd that this rare chance to hear this wonderful work so well performed was buried away beneath the avalanche of Beatlemania." Rupert Christiansen in the Daily Telegraph (January 7, 2008) commented that " The intimacy and resonant acoustic of the chamber flattered their voices, but praise is still due to Vesselina Genchova Vassileva (a fluent and agile if somewhat sharp-toned Emilia), Cozmin Sime (Claudio), Bruno Comparetti (Federico) and Vincenzo Taormina (Don Romualdo), all of whom sang with spirit and some sense of style."

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 Emilia - Martine Reyners

 Emilia - Martine Reyners

Federico - Bruno Comparetti,  Don Romaldo - Vincenzo Taormina, Candida - Adriana Festeu,
Claudio - Cosmin Sime, Emilia - Martine Reyners

Don Romaldo - Vincenzo Taormina, Il Conte - Etienne Hersperger 

Federico - Philippe Talbot, Don Romaldo - Vasco Fracanzani

Claudio - Marc Canturri,  Emilia - Francesca Park

Romaldo - Vasco Fracanzani with the rest of the cast in the background